ODU lands sought-after running back from N.Va.

Posted to: ODU Football Sports
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By Rich Radford
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 10, 2009

Angus Harper, a standout running back from Edison High in Alexandria, has committed to play football for Old Dominion.

Harper said Monday he intends to graduate early, enroll at ODU for spring classes and participate in spring drills with the Monarchs. While enrolling early is becoming more common at the Football Bowl Subdivision level, it's unusual for the Football Championship Subdivision.

The 5-foot-11, 202-pound Harper was also being recruited by Pitt, Connecticut, Temple, Marshall, East Carolina and a host of ACC schools. But most college recruiters told him they wanted him as a defensive back.

"Temple wanted me to play safety, Pitt wanted me at cornerback, Boston College wanted me at cornerback," Harper said. "I can play those positions, but if it's my choice, I want to play running back."

ODU, which is 8-2 in its initial season of college football, recruited Harper as a running back from the start. He rushed for 1,325 yards this season, including 170 yards on 20 carries in Edison's 28-21 loss to Hayfield Friday night. He also caught 13 passes for 230 yards this season and scored 18 touchdowns.

"ODU got themselves a real athlete," said Sherman Deck, Edison's defensive coordinator and running backs coach. "He's a 4.3/4.4 guy who doesn't realize how powerful he is.

"The kid is cut up. He has a body that's unbelievable. I told him the other day that he could be like (Minnesota Vikings running back) Adrian Peterson, run by people or over people. He laughed at me and said, 'Get outta here.' "

ODU coaches are not allowed under NCAA rules to comment on recruits until they have signed a national letter of intent with the university.

"ODU made the first offer," Harper said. "I've known for a while where I wanted to go."

Rich Radford, (757) 446-2463, rich.radford@pilotonline.com

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This Kid is Good!

Submitted by NOVAboy on Tue, 11/10/2009 at 12:36 pm.

I've seen this kid play and he is good. ODU's style of offense is made for him. It's a shame the other 1-AA schools in VA ( W&M, JMU, Richmond) didn't take a look at him. Their loss is ODU's gain.

Congrats to ODU on Great season.

Submitted by LABARRON on Tue, 11/10/2009 at 9:26 am.

I can't wait until NSU and Hampton gets on the schedule, I think it will be good for the region.

I think you'll be waiting a

Submitted by RRadford on Tue, 11/10/2009 at 9:52 am.

I think you'll be waiting a long, long time, because I don't ever see ODU playing Hampton.

ODU VS. NSU - HAMPTON

Submitted by LABARRON on Tue, 11/10/2009 at 10:36 am.

WHY?

Because they want a

Submitted by RRadford on Tue, 11/10/2009 at 12:43 pm.

Because they want a diversified non-conference schedule. That's why. They will play NSU, but with eight conference games that leaves them with only two other non-conference games and they will not use one on Hampton. They'd rather branch out from the immediate region at that point.

ODU VS. NSU - HAMPTON

Submitted by LABARRON on Tue, 11/10/2009 at 1:01 pm.

Understood; I didn't mean to infer that matchups would be a yearly kinda thing, maybe once or twice a decade or so.

yea and it wont be too long

Submitted by duetsch215 on Tue, 11/17/2009 at 12:00 pm.

yea and it wont be too long before ODU beats UVA

This is exactly why a soft schedule is good for a new team

Submitted by amgontarz on Mon, 11/09/2009 at 2:12 pm.

A soft schedule, albeit one of the toughest schedules for a start-up football program, is what enables the fans, and recruits like this, to buy into a program like ODU. They know that the real test begins in 2011, when CAA play begins, but having a winning 1st season breeds more winning seasons. It shows HS players around the state and the country that ODU intends on having a first-class, winning program from Day 1. First and foremost, players want to win. Sounds like Angus Harper could be a key building block for a team committed to winning.

Name

Submitted by cgergskins on Mon, 11/09/2009 at 9:44 pm.

Has to be one of the coolest names ever....Angus...I can think of only one other Angus he is British, plays guitar, and dresses like a school boy for a living.